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How much crap do you want people to go through? We have a whole thread of CSRs not knowing what's going on regarding this promo. Others write about how easy it was to get 24 months free. And you want people to now call in and say, hey, the website says lifetime. Where's my Lifetime Free HD?

(BTW, how was your experience about getting this, Blaze? You could do everyone a big favor by posting here the promo code you'll see on your account on DirecTV's website for this. It would make it a whole bunch easier for others to get Lifetime Free HD with that promo code.)

Now, if somebody wants to call DirecTV and ask for Lifetime Free HD, please do. I'll be very interested in reading your post on the experience. But for me, 24 months is the same as lifetime. I agree with the conventional wisdom here that within the next two years, the HD Access fee will go away. And if I could get 24 months free through 5 minutes on the phone, I'd be a happy camper. It seems that after a week of customers asking for 24 months free, maybe the CSRs actually know about this promo by now. Glory, be!

One thing that has been very apparent is how the HD Access fee payment has rapidly changed over the last week. In response to Dish's promotion, we've gone from $10 A Month to Lifetime Free for New Customers to 24 Months Free With Auto-Pay to 12 Months Free Without Auto-Pay to now what looks like Lifetime Free For Anybody (do we know about Auto-Pay with this option?). Somehow I'm sure the story will have evolved further in another week. If the scuttlebutt can be believed, DirecTV planned to drop the HD Access fee at the end of the year anyway, and with Dish's promotion, they moved things up. DirecTV has confused their current message as much as they can, but the path is clear. We're moving to free HD.

For me, Blaze, it isn't worth confusing the crap out of a CSR over this promo. Pick your saying: Life is short / Time is money / 24 months is a lifetime.

How much crap do you want people to go through? We have a whole thread of CSRs not knowing what's going on regarding this promo. Others write about how easy it was to get 24 months free. And you want people to now call in and say, hey, the website says lifetime. Where's my Lifetime Free HD?

(BTW, how was your experience about getting this, Blaze? You could do everyone a big favor by posting here the promo code.

Carl someone posted this on page 38 the minute they posted it, i called customer retention and they said i can get it no questions asked, i did ask CR is this "lifetime" she stated yup.

But the funny thing is that if you sign into your account, select change packages, go down to where it says "Free HD Channels" and click on "How do I get HD channels" it pops up with

"First, make sure you have a High-Def TV. You'll also need HD service. DIRECTV HD service is now FREE for as long as you're a DIRECTV customer. To add HD service, just check the "HD service" box when selecting your TV package. If you're already a DIRECTV customer and do not currently get HD channels, sign in to My Account. On your Account Overview page, click the My Services tab to learn how to add HD service to your TV package."

I called Thursday at 2:50 p.m. EST to the basic line and talked to a CSR. I explained to them that I was already on Autopay and have the Total Choice Plus (grandfathered). He said I was eligible for the HD Access 24-month credit and that he was transferring my call to the "Promotions" department.

I was on hold for 62 minutes waiting for someone to pick up in the "Promotions" department before I gave up and hung up.

I tried back again around 7:40 p.m. and when I dialed in, I asked the automated system for "Promotions" and it took me right there where I spoke to a CSR. After telling them what happened earlier, she also said I was eligible and needed to forward me again to a higher rep.

After being on hold for 7 more minutes, I was getting the feeling everyone was out to dinner, just like they were out to lunch earlier, but finally another rep picked up.

This rep told me that due to my anniversary gift from DTV, a $7 off DVR coupon for 6 months (my sign up date is late Feb.), that she couldn't apply the 24-month HD Access coupon immediately. She had to e-mail another CSR to get approval and said it would take three business days to apply to my account. She said to sign in on Monday and look for the credit then.

The curiosity got to me late tonight to see if any changes had taken effect on my account so I logged in and I didn't see an HD Access fee credit, but oddly I saw an MLB Extra Innings credit, $10/6 mo. with the 6/10/10 date on it. I don't know how that got there and we didn't speak of it during any conversation earlier, that night but it's nice to have. Perhaps it was applied because one of the CSR's felt bad that I was on hold for over an hour earlier in the day and didn't have a resolution. Who knows.

This still leaves me to wonder if the HD Access fee will get applied. If not, I'll call back on Monday.

I called yesterday and asked for the Promotion Dept. Got right thru - no problem. Was first asked who referred me to them (not once but 3 times) and I said from the Internet. CSR gone for a couple of minutes and then asked if I wanted the 6 months or 12 months credit - I said i wanted the 24 month credit - I had auto-pay, everything except the movie packages, and had been with them since 1996! Ops, another 3-4 minutes on hold and she finally came back and confirmed the 24-month credit. Also wanted me to take either HBO or Showtime for 3 months with $5 off the price. Said no thanks but she kept pressing. Finally, I said I was 85 years old and already seen all the movies I ever wanted and no thanks. End of story.

Some people think they are, but the first time D* audits their account, they will most likely lose it (if they ever had it).

I was told in no uncertain terms that if at anytime in the future, I stopped auto-pay, the $10.00 per month credit would stop with it. I was also told that if I suspended my services, the clock would still run on the 24 months. That is, if one suspends the account for 3 months during the summer, one would still have lost 3 months of the 24 months of free HD access.

I find this more believable than "I got it without auto-pay", but stranger things have happened.

My rep tried to push some NFL deal on me. I told her I was English (I am) and didn't give a crap about the NFL. She basically had to pause for 20 seconds as she was laughing so hard, told me she was Jamaican and could not agree more with me.

...why? ..because I'm sick and tired of 'strings attached'. Drop the HD fee ...period. I feel I've already paid plenty for a service that is headed toward being the 'norm' anyway. $10 per month for the past 27 months, plus buying/leasing 2 HD receivers at $200 a pop from Costco back in 2008.

How about this...auto-pay with a 7 day sleeper clause. I have 7 days from the initial debit to have it repealed.

I called but couldn't get the voice recognition to understand what I wanted. Some outfits let you get to a human by pressing "0" but that didn't work. I'll try again later.

It's easy, just say "Customer Service" when it prompts you for anything, it will send you through to CSR's pretty quickly.

I called in last night, got some assistance comparing my old legacy package to a new package. The new one was the same price and had more channels so I upgraded that, then dropped the $10/month for 24 months and added Starz w/ the savings. I am thinking about calling in and upgrading one of my boxes as the CSR said that I was eligible for an upgrade and then might also turn on MRV. Haven't decided on those yet but probably will do it in the next couple of months.

Thanks DBSTalk, I wouldn't have known about any of this "stuff" without this website!

...why? ..because I'm sick and tired of 'strings attached'. Drop the HD fee ...period. I feel I've already paid plenty for a service that is headed toward being the 'norm' anyway. $10 per month for the past 27 months, plus buying/leasing 2 HD receivers at $200 a pop from Costco back in 2008.

How about this...auto-pay with a 7 day sleeper clause. I have 7 days from the initial debit to have it repealed.

I don't get it. It's a contractual thing. They offer a $10.00/month discount (consideration), and you provide auto-pay. Seems fair to me.

Basically, you want something for nothing...and that's not much of a contractual relationship., but we can always hope. I just don't see it as something to get my knickers in a knot about. After all, they are trying to give me money (and they succeeded). The requirements on me were minimal (especially considering I've been on auto-pay for many years).

BY all means call DirecTv, ask for CANCELLATION; and ask for Free HD. If you get the right CSR you get 2 years free HD, by 2012 either current promotion is over or everyone will have free HD, and your base package will be ~$16 more. Some of us remember how we now get "Free" locals.

....to new subscribers who commit to 24 months and the automated bill pay.

The strategy there must have been:

1) Locked in revenue for new subscribers (only)2) Reduced churn rate for that batch of new customers3) Reduced collections due to automated bill pay4) One time new account acquisition hit for accounting purposes5) Many of the new customers will be cable defectors, based on the cost comparisons

Seeing all those upside considerations, DirecTV appeared to have jumped on matching those things quickly for the same reasons.

...why? ..because I'm sick and tired of 'strings attached'. Drop the HD fee ...period. I feel I've already paid plenty for a service that is headed toward being the 'norm' anyway. $10 per month for the past 27 months, plus buying/leasing 2 HD receivers at $200 a pop from Costco back in 2008.

How about this...auto-pay with a 7 day sleeper clause. I have 7 days from the initial debit to have it repealed.

My lord...dealing with a business isn't a democracy. If you want service, you agree to pay for that service and abide by their rules. You don't get to make the rules, you don't get to change the rules. Go into business for yourself if that is what you want.

If you don't like it, take your money elsewhere. It's freakin' auto-pay...not a request for a DNA sample. If I had half as many complaints as some of you, I would no longer be a customer. If you want the promotion, they say that (technically) you must use and keep using auto-pay. They may wave that requirement for some of you. If they won't and you don't want to use auto-pay...you don't get that $10 off each month. That's just too bad for you. That is your choice as a consumer.

_______________________________________Stop demanding things folks. Leave your sense of entitlement at the door. You get what you pay for or you pay someone else.